It was touted as the year which could herald a change in the fortunes Indian hockey, but 2018 turned out to be yet another saga of missed opportunities for the sport.
Emboldened by Australia's remarkable turnaround in the ODI series against India, vice-captain Alex Carey Tuesday said they are confident of entering the World Cup with a squad good enough to play like defending champions.
India would look to reignite the spark and keep themselves afloat in the ODI cricket tri-series when they take on an unbeaten Australia in Sydney.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India released Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Stuart Binny from the Indian Test squad to play for their respective states in the next round of Ranji Trophy.
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The Board, however, did not clarify the reason behind granting leave to the veteran cricketer.
Denied adequate preparation time in India, the West Indies would look to utilise all their resources when they take on Board President's XI
India men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the one week break starting before the Champions Trophy will help the players rejuvenate themselves ahead of the Rio Olympics, the countdown for which has already begun. The 29-member men's hockey squad will be on a week's break before they rejoin on May 29 and Oltmans said the idea, behind the move was to ensure the players are feeling fresh and hungry ahead of next month's FIH Champions Trophy in London. "Starting June 5, the team will be away for almost a month playing two different tournaments in two different countries. Everything we do in this period will be demanding not just physically but also mentally," Oltmans said.
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In a shocking turn of events, 25 out of the 45 women grapplers, who train at the SAI centre in Lucknow, reported absent from the national camp without taking permission from the National Federation.
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